Predatory Behavior of Proctacanthella leucopogon (Diptera: Asilidae): Prey Recognition and Prey Records 1

1980 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd E. Shelly ◽  
David L. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
Prey Recognition

The changes in the predatory behavior of the microturbellarian Stenostomum sphagnetorum on two species of toxin-secreting ciliates of the genus Spirostomum

Biologia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Buonanno
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Defense ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
Learned Behavior ◽  
Prey Recognition ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Spirostomum Ambiguum

AbstractIt is known that the microturbellarian Stenostomum sphagnetorum, a common ciliate predator, is very sensitive against different types of toxins produced by other ciliates for chemical defense, and consequently, it is not able to capture and ingests these ciliates. In particular, when the predator tries to attack one of these toxin-secreting ciliates, it is forced to regurgitate the captured prey in response to the toxin discharged from the ciliates. In this study it is shown that after repeated attacks by S. sphagnetorum against two species of toxic ciliates (Spirostomum ambiguum and Spirostomum teres), the predator acquires a behavior of prey selection that leads to the exclusion of these ciliates among the possible prey and to the distinction between edible and inedible (toxic) ciliates. This learned behavior, which is maintained for days, is lost only after the asexual reproduction of the microturbellarian. In addition, S. sphagnetorum learns to recognize and avoid specimens of S. ambiguum and S. teres artificially deprived of their toxins, strongly suggesting that the toxins are not exclusively associated in the prey recognition of the microturbellarian.

scholarly journals The role of synchronized swimming as affiliative and anti-predatory behavior in long-finned pilot whales

2012 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Senigaglia ◽  
Renaud de Stephanis ◽  
Phillippe Verborgh ◽  
David Lusseau
Keyword(s):  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
Synchronized Swimming ◽  
Pilot Whales

Effects of a high-risk environment on edge-drilling behavior: inference from Recent bivalves from the Red Sea

Paleobiology ◽  
10.1666/13024 ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devapriya Chattopadhyay ◽  
Martin Zuschin ◽  
Adam Tomašových
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Drill Hole ◽  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
Width Ratio ◽  
Substrate Affinity ◽  
Risk Environment ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Distribution ◽  
Predation Intensity

Edge-drilling is an unusual predation pattern in which a predatory gastropod drills a hole on the commissure between the valves of a bivalve. Although it is faster than wall drilling, it involves the potential risk of amputating the drilling organ. We therefore hypothesize that this risky strategy is advantageous only in environments where predators face high competition or predation pressure while feeding. The high frequency of edge-drilling (EDF, relative to the total number of drilled valves) in a diverse Recent bivalve assemblage from the Red Sea enables us to test this hypothesis, predicting (1) a low EDF in infaunal groups, (2) a high EDF in bivalves with elongated shape, (3) high incidence of edge-drilling in groups showing a high wall-drilling frequency, and (4) high EDF in shallow habitats. We evaluate these predictions based on >15,000 bivalve specimens. Among ecological attributes, we found substrate affinity and predation intensity of a species to be good predictors of edge-drilling incidence. Infaunal taxa with high length/width ratio have a low EDF, in accordance with our predictions. Predation intensity is also a significant predictor of edge-drilling; groups with high predation intensity show higher incidence of edge-drilling, confirming our prediction. Although water depth fails to show any significant effect on EDF, this analysis generally supports the high-risk hypothesis of edge-drilling incidence because shallow depths have considerable microhabitat variability. Classically the drill hole site selection has often been linked to predatory behavior. Our study indicates that prey attributes are also crucial in dictating the behavioral traits of a driller such as site selection. This calls for considering such details of the prey to fully understand predation in modern and fossil habitats. Moreover, this perspective is important for tackling the longstanding riddle of the limited temporal and spatial distribution of edge-drilling.

Rattlesnake strike behavior: kinematics

1998 ◽  
Vol 201 (6) ◽  
pp. 837-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
K V Kardong ◽  
V L Bels
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Postures ◽  
Body Segments ◽  
Impact Forces ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
High Speed Film ◽  
Rodent Prey ◽  
Subsequent Loss

The predatory behavior of rattlesnakes includes many distinctive preparatory phases leading to an extremely rapid strike, during which venom is injected. The rodent prey is then rapidly released, removing the snake's head from retaliation by the prey. The quick action of the venom makes possible the recovery of the dispatched prey during the ensuing poststrike period. The strike is usually completed in less than 0.5 s, placing a premium on an accurate strike that produces no significant errors in fang placement that could result in poor envenomation and subsequent loss of the prey. To clarify the basis for effective strike performance, we examined the basic kinematics of the rapid strike using high-speed film analysis. We scored numerous strike variables. Four major results were obtained. (1) Neurosensory control of the strike is based primarily upon sensory inputs via the eyes and facial pits to launch the strike, and upon tactile stimuli after contact. Correction for errors in targeting occurs not by a change in strike trajectory, but by fang repositioning after the jaws have made contact with the prey. (2) The rattlesnake strike is based upon great versatility and variation in recruitment of body segments and body postures. (3) Forces generated during acceleration of the head are transferred to posterior body sections to decelerate the head before contact with the prey, thereby reducing impact forces upon the snake's jaws. (4) Body acceleration is based on two patterns of body displacement, one in which acute sections of the body open like a gate, the other in which body segments flow around postural curves similar to movements seen during locomotion. There is one major implication of these results: recruitment of body segments, launch postures and kinematic features of the strike may be quite varied from strike to strike, but the overall predatory success of each strike by a rattlesnake is very consistent. <P>

The Signal Generated by an Insect in a Spider's Web

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-192
Author(s):  
D. A. PARRY
Keyword(s):  
Linear Response ◽  
Wave Form ◽  
Irregular Wave ◽  
Prey Recognition ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Fast Transients ◽  
Sudden Release ◽  
House Spider ◽  
Rotational Oscillations ◽  
The Web

1. There is evidence that web-spinning spiders discriminate between prey and artifacts in their webs, and that the signal involved is a mechanical one. As a contribution to our understanding of the basis of this discrimination, an analysis has been made of the natural signal generated by an insect in the web of the British house spider Tegenaria atrica. 2. The signal investigated was frequency-limited to 1 kc./sec, this being the upper limit of the linear response of the specially designed transducer. 3. The signal has an irregular wave-form with most of the energy lying below 50 cyc./sec. Damped transverse and rotational oscillations of the mass of the spider in the compliance of the web have been recognized. In addition there are ‘fast transients’, most likely due to the sudden release of tension in the web by slight movements of the insect. 4. The possibility that the fast transients form the basis of prey-recognition is being investigated.

Levels of modeling of mechanisms of visually guided behavior

1987 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Arbib
Keyword(s):  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Visuomotor Coordination ◽  
Prey Recognition ◽  
High Level ◽  
Organizational Principles ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Dextrous Hands

AbstractIntermediate constructs are required as bridges between complex behaviors and realistic models of neural circuitry. For cognitive scientists in general, schemas are the appropriate functional units; brain theorists can work with neural layers as units intermediate between structures subserving schemas and small neural circuits.After an account of different levels of analysis, we describe visuomotor coordination in terms of perceptual schemas and motor schemas. The interest of schemas to cognitive science in general is illustrated with the example of perceptual schemas in high-level vision and motor schemas in the control of dextrous hands.Rana computatrix, the computational frog, is introduced to show how one constructs an evolving set of model families to mediate flexible cooperation between theory and experiment. Rana computatrix may be able to do for the study of the organizational principles of neural circuitry what Aplysia has done for the study of subcellular mechanisms of learning. Approach, avoidance, and detour behavior in frogs and toads are analyzed in terms of interacting schemas. Facilitation and prey recognition are implemented as tectal-pretectal interactions, with the tectum modeled by an array of tectal columns. We show how layered neural computation enters into models of stereopsis and how depth schemas may involve the interaction of accommodation and binocular cues in anurans.

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